“Ah!” A heartbreaking scream came out of my mouth.
A fierce electric shock hit my brain. White lights burst behind my eyes and my whole body shook. I tried so hard to move, but heavy chains held my hands and feet tight.
Blood ran through my hair and dripped onto the cold iron chair. On the big screen, scenes jumped around. One moment it showed a classroom, the next a stream, then the mountain.
They were all happy memories of me, Ivana and Lizzy together.
But still, there was no memory of the night Lizzy was attacked.
The crowd started to whisper. Even the live chat was filled with questions.
[What’s going on? Why isn’t there any memory of that night?]
[Didn’t Lizzy say this woman saw the rapist?]
Ivana frowned and turned to her tech team. “What’s going on? Why can’t we find the memory of the rapist?”
One of the techs wiped his forehead and stammered, “Ms. Sinclair, she... she seems to be fighting the system. She’s refusing to let that memory be pulled.”
“What? Fighting the system?” Ivana’s face went hard. Her sharp gaze immediately turned toward me.
She slammed her hand on the table as she shouted, “Selina! Even now, you’re still resisting? Who is that monster you’re protecting so badly?”
Ten years ago, Ivana had shouted the same words at me. After Lizzy’s note was made public, everyone started to turn against me. They all wanted to know who the rapist was.
At first, Ivana didn’t believe I would protect a criminal. Yet, it only took her less than one day to start doubting me.
Only she knew I hid in a cave with Bruno. When the villagers found us and began to skin Bruno alive, I begged her to stop them. Instead, she picked up a stick and struck me hard on the head until my vision blurred with blood.
She yelled at me then, eyes full of anger: “Selina, we grew up together. We treated you as a friend. What do you take us for? You gave up your best friend to protect a rapist!”
That night, the villagers nearly beat me to death. Ivana’s mother pulled her away and two days later, their family left the province and never returned.
Now, she looked at me with a gaze full of hatred.
She raised her hand and spoke with cold resolve, “Expand the extraction. I won’t stop until I find the truth.”
The tech hesitated. “Ms. Sinclair… her body is weak and she’s fighting the process. If we keep widening the range… she may not survive.”
Ivana gave a cold, disdainful laugh. “Can’t handle it?”
“I spent years building this machine to find the truth. Her life or death means nothing to me. People like her… better if they all die.”
Her words made the techs tremble, but they raised the settings anyway. The machine’s hum grew louder. The tiny needles in the helmet pushed deeper into my brain.
“Ah!” My scream tore through the entire square.
Blood poured from my nose, my ears and my eyes. My chest burned as if on fire and my body shook violently against the chair.
The technician’s temple was wet with sweat. He spoke with a shaking voice, “Ms. Sinclair… should we stop now? She can’t hold on much longer.”
Ivana stared at the big screen with an unreadable expression.
“Continue,” she said firmly, her voice was as cold as ice.
The machine roared and the screen shook. My mind was fighting inside my head. My screams echoed in the air.
Ivana’s eyes were red and wild. She shouted almost madly, “Selina, who is this person? Tell me, who in the world are you trying to protect?”
Then she suddenly broke down. She fell against my shoulder and cried, “We are your friends, Selina…”
Her whole body trembled and her tears fell uncontrollably.
Warm tears dripped onto my hand and my chest tightened at the sound of her cries. My heart broke into pieces.
My dear friend, my dear Iva, was crying.
I reached out without thinking to wipe her face. But in that small pause, the memory I had hidden for years flashed on the big screen.
The crowd gasped. Everyone turned. When people saw the scene, their faces went pale in an instant.
